Feifei Hello, and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I’m Feifei, and I’m with Phil. What have you been doing, Phil?
Phil I’ve just been doing my Christmas shopping. It’s so hard to find things for everyone. I don’t really know what people are going to like.
Feifei You know what? You can’t go wrong with gift vouchers. Let people decide what they want as a present for themselves.
Phil That might be a good idea! And actually, there’s a good expression for this episode, ‘you can’t go wrong with’.
Feifei Yes, if you want to make a suggestion, and say that it’s guaranteed to succeed, or at least very likely to succeed, you can say ‘you can’t go wrong with’.
Phil So, if you were looking for the perfect Christmas party idea, would you agree that you can’t go wrong with karaoke?
Feifei I’m not sure about that, Phil. I’ve heard you singing! I reckon you can’t go wrong with a good meal, then everyone’s happy.
Let’s hear some examples of ‘you can’t go wrong with’
Examples There’s a sauce called gravy which goes with a Christmas dinner, and I think if you add a teaspoon of mustard, it’s really great. You can’t go wrong with a teaspoon of mustard.
I never know what film to watch but at this time of year, you can’t go wrong with a Christmas movie. They’re always so cosy.
Everyone loves Italian food. I just think you can’t go wrong with pasta or pizza.
Feifei As well as ‘can’t go wrong’, you’ll also hear ‘you can’t go far wrong’ or ‘you won’t go far wrong’. They mean the same thing, and we use them in the same way.
Phil You mean, I could say if you want to learn new English expressions, you can’t go far wrong with listening to this programme?
Feifei That’s right! And you won’t go far wrong if you listen to us!
Phil And while we need to finish now, you won’t go far wrong if you come back for the next episode. Bye!
Feifei Bye bye!